Spirited Away
by InuOniShi
Summary: A few days after they had travelled to a supposedly haunted valley, Kagome begins having strange dreams. At the urging of her friends she returned home, only to permanently find herself stuck in her nightmares. Strangely she isn't alone. In one mansion a woman from her time resides and in another Sesshomaru searches for Rin. Will they be able to put the pieces together and escape?
1. Don't Follow the Butterflies

**A/N:** I'm back! As some of you may know from seeing my most recent posting of my story called To Cure the Curse. This story is a little different. I have NEVER dabbled in the horror story department. While I play many horror video games, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and Fatal Frame to name a few, I have never thought of writing a story about it. And one day, a few months ago, this suddenly came to me while I was replaying Fatal Frame 1, 2 and 3. I wrote this up forever ago and just left it on my computer. Along with all my other stories I'm working on, which is a lot. I finally decided to post some stories and let you guys see what I'm working on now!

I know it probably sucks, but take it easy on me, okay? I've never writen horror before, I don't even read horror. But, I do watch a CRAP ton of horror movies as they are my absolute favourite and mainly only play horror video games, just replayed Saw 1 and 2 the other day. I'll try my best to make it good, but I suck at writing these kind of things, but I really do want to try!

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**Night 1: Don't Follow the Butterflies**

_Winter was turning to spring. Flowers had begun to bloom, peaking through the soft patches of white that still covered the ground from the passing season. A cool breeze ruffled the leaves and the tall blades of grass. It's path only hindered by a lone figure standing in the middle of the deserted meadow._

_Kagome breathed in the fresh air with a sigh of contentment. Her raven hair danced behind her, being twirled around by the soft wind. Her ocean blue eyes drifted up, taking in the beautiful crystal clear sky lit by the afternoon sun. An awed smile spread across her face. She has been travelling in the Sengoku Jidai for almost a year and a half and it was still the most beautiful place she had ever seen._

_She closed her eyes to enjoy the peace and tranquillity that surrounded her. She allowed herself a moment to soak in the wonderful weather and delightful breeze before opening her eyes once more. A flash of red to her right caught her attention. Turning in place she expected to see Inuyasha standing at the edge of the clearing waiting impatiently for her to finish up and rejoin them, but that was not what she found._

_Stunned in place a startled gasp left her lips. The field that was once empty, void of all life except for herself was now filled with the most dazzling crimson coloured butterflies. Their bright red wings glittering as they kept themselves afloat in the air. She watched in amazement as one flew so close it's wing gently brushed her cheek._

_She reached up, letting the fingertips trace the path the wing had made. Pulling her hand away she nearly screamed in shock to find her pointer and middle finger coated in blood. The red liquid dripped slowly down the digits, pooling into the palm of her hand. In fascinated horror she studied the sticky substance to find that it had taken the shape of a butterfly._

_The blood began to glow and before her eyes the liquid disappeared and a butterfly stretched it's wings before flying away to join the many still drifting around the meadow. As if they were one, all the butterflies flew off together, headed into the grey sky. Confusion filled her mind as soft flakes of snow drifted down around her, landing in her ebony hair making it sparkle in the dim winter sun._

"Inuyasha," Kagome cried out, startling herself from sleep.

"What is it," Inuyasha jumped down from his tree, pulling his sword free from it's scarab as his amber eyes searched the surrounding area for any invading forces.

Sango and Miroku sprung from their make-shift beds, each reaching for their weapons, preparing to help Inuyasha defend their camp. A heavy silence settled over them as the three warriors scanned the area franticly for any life signs. The small red headed child that has been sleeping peacefully beside Kagome crawled tiredly into her lap, looking up at her fearful face. Her blue eyes were trained on her right hand, staring at it as if it had turned into Naraku himself.

"Mama," he whispered gently, drawing the other's attention, "what's wrong?"

"It," Kagome forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat, "it was just a bad dream."

_'But it seemed so real,'_ a shiver of fear danced down her spine at her unspoken thoughts.

Sango set down her Hiraikotsu against a tree before she moved over to comfort her fear stricken friend, "Kagome, are you sure you are alright?"

"It just shook me up a bit," she smiled shakily up at her friend.

"Keh, you woke up the whole group and the sun is still hours from rising," Inuyasha scowled up at the night darkened sky.

"Leave her alone, Inuyasha," Miroku admonished, "I think the dream left her a little more shaken then her usual nightmares."

"I don't understand how she has nightmares this often," the hanyou huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, "you, Sango and the brat don't have near as many nightmares and you have all seen far worse."

"For some reason," Miroku whispered softly, "I don't think this was just another nightmare."

"We might as well get moving for the day, no point in laying around till the sun comes up."

Kagome took in a deep breath and tried to gather her nerve to get up for the day. Whatever her dream had been about, it certainly seemed real. She could still feel the warm blood as if it still coated her fingers. She could feel the touch of the wing against her cheek and the feel of the butterfly on the palm of her hand. Shakily she stood from her bed and helped her friends pack away their stuff to head out for the day.

Breakfast was a quiet and quick affair. The whole group was tired by their early awakening, but they pushed forward, never letting a step falter because of their fatigue. Kagome felt guilty for having woken up her friends, but she couldn't shake the feeling that the dream was more then what it seemed. Her eyes stayed trained on the ground, catching glimpses of her hand every now and again to reassure herself that no blood did reside there.

"Kagome," a feminine voice broke through her thoughts.

"Yeah," she glanced up at her best friend's worried face.

"I've tried getting your attention several times, are you alright?"

"I'm okay, Sango. I think that dream just scared me more then I thought. I'll be okay, I promise."

Sango frowned, "if you say so. Inuyasha says we can stop for lunch."

"Oh."

Kagome glanced around and noticed Inuyasha and Miroku preparing a fire to cook the freshly killed buck that lay at their feet. Shippo sat with Kirara playing a game with the small neko youkai with his enchanted toys. Sango stood beside her, the concerned look still plastered on her face. Time had passed without her realizing it. The many hours they had walked she had spent so preoccupied with her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed how tired she truly was.

With a grateful sigh she sat herself near the fire. The heat from the flames soaked into her skin, ridding her of the fading winter chill. She watched the orange, red and yellow dance together, flickering back and forth as it hungrily consumed the logs. The odd silence that surrounded her didn't phase her as she allowed herself to once more slip into her thoughts.

_'It was snowing, but winter is almost over. I saw the sky, it was blue. It was clear and then when those butterflies flew away... it was grey as if winter had never gone away. It was so cold there, in that meadow and that liquid it was so warm,' _she bent her legs at the knees and rested her head upon them, letting her eyes close, wishing to block out the memories, _'was it my blood? Is it a warning that we are going to get attacked soon?'_

_Kagome lifted her head from it's resting place. She scrambled backwards on her hands and feet, shocked to see in front of her that very same meadow as the day before. Her back connected sharply with a tree trunk, effectively stopping her from retreating. Slowly and cautiously she stood on shakily legs. As she breathed out a puff of white escaped her lips, slowly disappearing as it began it's assent to the grey skies above._

_Snow flakes began to fall, floating gently to the ground. A single flake landed on her cheek, below her right eye. The same cheek the butterfly's wing had touched. Startled by the sudden movement near her face she blinked. For a minute she stood there, completely unmoving afraid to open her eyes and greet whatever might now lay before her. Taking a deep breath she let the lids slide open, revealing to her a single crimson butterfly._

_The small creature began to fly away, heading into the forest. Curious and afraid to stay there for too much longer, Kagome followed the tiny red beckon. She weaved in and out of the trees and stumbled over the many roots on her path. Pushing her way around a rather large and bare bush she finally broke free of the forest. A path lay before her, stretching down a small hill. In the distance she could see the butterfly as it flew down the path and around a building into the village below. _

_Unsure on if she should follow the creature or turn around she let herself take in her surroundings. Directly in front of her she could make out an archway. Walking slowly she stopped just before crossing under the wooden structure, her eyes drawn to a small statue set at the base. Kneeling down she studied the stone. Carved upon it's surface were two twins, one was missing his head. Around their waists ropes were tied connecting the two together._

_Her hand reached out to touch the statue, her fingertips had almost made contact when a noise to her left drew her attention. Standing just inside the archway was a woman, roughly around her age. The woman had long wavy strawberry blonde hair that went all the way to her knees. Her face was heart shaped with high cheek bones, her eyes were almond shaped their colour a shimmering light emerald, her nose was small and pink like her cheeks from the cold and her large plush lips were blue._

_She was dressed in only a simply white dress. It was modest and covered her breasts barely showing the start of her cleavage and it flowed all the way down to mid thigh. But, the thin material was doing nothing to protect the poor girl from the weather. Her nails on her fingers were beautiful, the tips of each coloured a sparkling pink. Her feet were bare, showing her toes painted the same way as her fingers._

_As the other lady began to speak, Kagome's gaze was drawn back to her eyes. Her green orbs held a darkness, a haunted look, one Kagome had only seen on her many friends there in the past. The woman tilted her head to look down at her, the reddish blonde hair falling over her shoulders to frame her face. Her words sent a chill of foreboding down her spine and raised goosebumps on her skin._

"_If you cross, you can never return," her voice was soft, almost lost on the breeze, "do not follow the butterflies."_

"_Where do I go then? Which way do I follow," Kagome asked, panic filling her voice._

"_Do not follow the butterflies," the woman turned, walking back towards the village on her bare feet._

_Kagome glanced down at the ground and on the sand were two perfect red footprints where the woman had been standing._

"_Wait," Kagome cried as she stood up from her spot prepared to chase after the stranger, "your feet are bleeding!"_

"Wait," Kagome screamed, her head snapping up from it's resting place on her knees.

"Are you alright," Miroku placed a hand on her shoulder, "you fell asleep while we were waiting for lunch."

"Yeah, I'm okay... it's just that girl," she tapered off, glancing around in confusion.

"What girl," Sango asked her softly, "we haven't seen another person all day."

"But, her feet... they were," Kagome paused realizing she had been dreaming and the woman had been a figment of her imagination.

"They were what," Shippo crawled into her lap with an innocent look on his face.

"Bleeding," she finished her sentence and with a shrug she said, "I guess I was dreaming."

"Well at least it wasn't a nightmare," Inuyasha gripped, plucking some meat from the fire handing it to her.

"Yeah," she murmured, "thanks."

Gratefully she accepted the food and mindfully picked at it with her fingers. The taste of the meat was lost to her, her mind still absorbed in the dream and the woman she had seen there. A frown pulled at her lips. She had been injured. Who knows how long she had walked without shoes or how infected her feet would be after such trauma. Shaking her head she tried to push it away.

_'It's only a dream, that girl wasn't even real. I shouldn't worry about her, I should just continue with my day and help out as much as possible.'_

With her resolve to forget her dreams in the front of her mind, she finished her lunch while attempting to make small talk with her friends. They continued to glance at her repeatedly, worried about her well being. After they had finished lunch they packed away their things and continued on their trip.

"So where are we headed any ways," Kagome asked curiously.

"If you had been paying attention this morning," Inuyasha huffed, "you would know that we are headed to talk to Koga."

"But why are we headed all the way there," she looked to the other two for further information.

"Inuyasha thinks that Koga might have some information about the wolves that attacked us the other day," Miroku smiled at her.

"He also wants to know more about that valley we passed through," Sango pitched in.

Shippo shifted in her arms, gently reaching up to touch her chin and gain her attention ,"they say that, that valley is haunted and those who wonder there get spirited away."

"Spirited away? You mean people in this time believe in that kind of thing too," Kagome said unbelievingly.

Miroku nodded grimly, "many people go missing because they were spirited away. It's not a belief, it's real."

"Well," she laughed, "I found out that youkai were real, I guess ghosts could be too. But, what would Koga know about the valley?"

"Those wolves were there and they looked like wolves of his," Sango said thoughtfully, "if anyone knows anything about it, it would be him."

"I get a bad feeling about this," Kagome tried not to think about the goosebumps rising on her skin.

"Everything will be okay," Miroku told her firmly, "we will figure it out."

"If you say so. How long will it take to reach Koga's dens?"

"Only a few days if we pick up the pace," Inuyasha stated harshly.

"Gomen," Kagome blushed, picking up the pace of her steps.

Hours passed as they continued forward on their journey to reach Koga's dens. The sun was sinking, bringing upon them the cold blanket of night. Inuyasha instructed them to set up camp. They built a fire and unrolled their sleeping bags. Dinner was made and ate in silence as they all prepared themselves for a hopefully peaceful night sleep. Kagome begrudgingly crawled into the warmth of her makeshift bed.

Shippo eagerly crawled in with her, curling against her chest. Kagome laid awake as her adopted son slipped off into sleep. Her eyelids were heavy, wishing to close and bring her into the world of dreams, but she fought to keep them open. She was afraid of what might come if she closed her eyes. Afraid of what she might see in her dreams that night. Her dreams that were so vivid it was hard not to believe it wasn't reality.

Her strength began to leave her and her eyes slid closed. Her mind remained awake, begging her body not to let her go. Tired from the long trip and the lack of sleep the night before her body gave into the call for sleep and gently sent her off into the sea of dreams.

_Kagome opened her eyes to find herself standing at the archway. The red footprints still marring the ground where the woman had stood in her previous dream. The woman was no where in sight and there was no trail of footprints to lead her to where ever she had gone. Glancing over the village, a crimson butterfly caught her eye, floating in front of the nearest house._

_Pushing down the fear of foreboding, she took a couple steps forward crossing the archway. Gaining nerve she continued forward till she reached a small crest in the hill overlooking the village. It seemed quiet, too quiet. Not a single person walked the street and every house was darkened out. Turning around she chanced a look back at the path she had gotten here on to find it gone._

_The wooden structure that had been there was gone and the only things that remained were the footprints and the stone statue. The soft breeze like voice echoed in her memory, _'if you cross, you can never return.'_ She took a deep breath to steady herself before continuing on down to the house the butterfly had been in front of. The feeling of being watched crawled across her back as she pried open the front door._

_Nervously she rushed in, slamming the door shut behind her. Her breathing quickened and all her courage left her. Something was out in that village and whatever it was, it wasn't friendly. How she knew this, she wasn't sure. But she was sure she didn't want to meet whatever was waiting for her. Spinning around she screamed when she noticed a woman standing in front of the door that lead to the living room._

_Suddenly the woman vanished, leaving her alone and yet panicked. She had two choices, go forward and find out what might possibly be in this house or turn around and face what was waiting out there for her. Swallowing hard and chose to enter the house. The fire pit that sat directly in the center of the room looked as if it hadn't been used in years and dust clung to every surface. Slowly she explored, searching each room she came across._

_In the very back of the house she stumbled upon a flash light that still worked. Under it was a note written in a very neat and feminine script. As she read she couldn't help but think about the woman she had met during her afternoon nap._

You have found your way here, called here by her. She wants you to help her, she wants you to free her. She wants you to become a butterfly. You must find your way out of here. You must leave and never return. It's dangerous in this village. There is a camera, I hid it here in this house for you. It's upstairs in the very back room. You will need it. Hurry, find it quickly, they are everywhere.

"_They are everywhere," Kagome repeated the last part out load to herself._

_Standing from her crouched spot next to the dressers in the room, she glanced out the doors and into the back yard. This time she didn't scream when she saw her. The same woman as before stood silently on the deck staring out towards the yard. Her heart began to pound, sliding a foot back she attempted to quietly back out of the room. Her foot smacked hard into the small raised burning pit._

_She held her breath, waiting, hoping that the ghost hadn't heard her. Luck however was not on her side. The woman turned around, a crazed look in her eyes, and came after her. Reacting on instinct, Kagome raced from the room and down the hall. She turned into the small outcrop where the stairs were and took them two at a time. The ghost she could hear was behind her, keeping up with her with it's lack of need to walk around walls._

_She sped around the corner, ripping open the lone door there. The room seemed to last forever as she rushed through it and into the next where a camera lay innocently on the top of a desk. Her fingers had just enclosed around the object of her search when the ghost appeared in front of her. Once more she let her instincts take over, she raised the camera and snapped a picture. The woman screamed and backed away._

_Quickly she took a couple more and the woman disappeared. Kagome's legs gave out and she landed on her bottom right next to the desk where another note waited for her. The same handwriting as before decorated it's page._

There will be more, they won't stop. They are everywhere. They will find you, just don't let them touch you. It isn't safe to let them touch you. Lest you wish to bare their pain.

'There is more,' _Kagome thought in horror to herself, _'there can't be more. I can't do this. I need to wake up. I have to wake up.'

_There was nothing left for her in this house. If she stayed she would end up being caught by that woman. She pulled herself to her feet and cautiously found her way down the stairs and out of the house. A ghost appeared on the path, walking to the left deeper into the village. Quickly she brought up her camera and took a picture and watched in fascination as the ghost disappeared seconds after it's image was caught on film._

_With fear running high and the need to find a way out, Kagome walked the direction the ghost had been heading. Another fork in the road appeared and this time instead of seeing a ghost, she knew she saw someone. Running forward she looked to her right to barely catch a glimpse of Kikyo walking around the next corner at the bottom of some stairs._

"_Kikyo," Kagome cried, trying to catch up with her, "wait! Kikyo!"_

_Desperate to find the familiar face she didn't think twice about why Kikyo might be in her dream. As she rounded the next corner she scrambled backwards in a vain attempt to retreat. Four men in white charged her, protecting the locked gate behind their back. The way Kikyo must have gone. Thinking quickly Kagome pulled up her camera and continued to take pictures of the men until they all disappeared._

_Cautiously she walked forward and touched the lock. Kikyo had gone this way and now she had to find a way to enter this gate. Glancing at both sides she noticed a tree that was only a few feet shy of the hight of the gate. Deciding against finding a key, she grabbed a steady branch and pulled herself up. Times like this she really wished Inuyasha was around, he would have bound her over the gate with barely a twitch of a muscle._

_Grunting she hauled herself over the top of the gate. Losing her balance she fell harshly off the other side, crashing hard against the ground. She hissed as a sharp rock dug deeply into the soft fleshy tissue of her side. With a deep breath she got back onto her feet. Taking in her surroundings she couldn't help but love the long bridge in front of her and the crimson butterflies that danced all around it._

'Don't follow the butterflies,' _the woman's voice echoed in her mind as she walked across the bridge._

_Kagome sighed, _'what other choice do I have? Where else am I suppose to go?'

_Eerily the doors on the second set of gates slowly swung open as she approached. Their creak of old ageing wood filled the still air making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. If she wasn't so sure this was a dream, she would believe that entering this house meant that she could never leave. Footsteps on the bridge urged her to rush forward and into the mansion. The doors clicked behind her, the sound seemed final._

_Gulping in as much air as she could take she moved forward towards the hallway. Kikyo headed into the door on the right. Kagome followed, wanting to catch up with the other miko, only to find the door locked. It was impossible, it was illogical, then again the whole dream was. She decided to just go through the other door in hopes that it would eventually lead to a key or another passage to where Kikyo had gone. As her hand touched the doorknob a young girl appeared in-between her and the door. A wicked grin on her face and her kimono splattered with blood._

Kagome jerked awake, the scream frozen in her throat. Her eyes glanced around nervously for any recognition that her dream had been more then just a simple dream and she found nothing. Taking a couple deep breaths she calmed herself enough to lay back down and attempt to find sleep again. The dark bliss she had been hoping for evaded her, leaving her horribly tired that morning when the group woke to begin their day.

_'This is going to be a long day,'_ she sighed.


	2. Marked

**Night 2: Marked**

"Maybe a hot bath before bed will help you sleep," Sango stated.

Dinner had long since been finished, the remains of it swept away to keep the area clean. Inuyasha briefly glanced up at the brunette, refusing to make a comment about her statement. Miroku frowned, he usually would have agreed so he could try to take a peek at them, but even Inuyasha could tell something was seriously bothering Kagome. The poor girl had hardly gotten any sleep the past several nights and the bags under her eyes were so dark they looked like bruises.

"A bath sounds nice," Kagome nodded.

The two gathered their stuff and headed towards the hot springs Inuyasha had camped them by that night. Sango glanced at her friend, hoping that whatever was bothering her would come out in their bath talk. Silently the raven hair girl stripped her clothes off and slipped into the water up to her waist. Her muscles relaxed and she sighed in contentment. Leaning back against a large rock she closed her eyes and willed herself to remain awake.

Sango followed her in, choosing to sit on the opposite side of her. She was glad to see her friend relaxing, though she couldn't help but worry that the other girl would fall asleep in the hot water. Her eyes were drawn down to Kagome's side. Above her right hip was a horribly large dark purple bruise. In the center the skin looked like it had broken open and then scabbed over in the healing process. The large bruise easily took up her whole side.

"Kagome," Sango gasped, "what happened to your side?"

Deliriously Kagome opened her eyes to glance at the piece of skin that had caught her friends attention, "I fell."

"You haven't fell or been active in a fight for several days," Sango said doubtfully.

"I fell," Kagome repeated, her voice turning whimsical, "in my dream."

"What do you mean you fell in your dream?"

"I climbed a gate and fell."

"Kagome, I think something is really wrong. Maybe you should go home, maybe you should go to your time and get looked at. I'm really worried about you," the worry in her friends voice startled her.

"What about the jewel, I can't just leave," Kagome shook her head in disagreement.

"How are you going to find the jewel if you can barely stay awake during the day and unable to sleep at night? And now you are hurt, look at that! It's huge and you don't even know where it came from!"

"Yes, I do! I fell off a gate!"

"Kagome, bruises from a dream don't appear on your body and you haven't fallen or been in battle all week. That bruise came from somewhere and you need to seek help before your whole body looks like that."

"Maybe," she mumbled sleepily, the heat of the water beginning to catch up to her.

"Lets get you washed up," Sango sighed.

A little over an hour later the two girls finally returned to camp. Kagome asleep in Sango's arms. The slayer sighed and set the sleeping woman down on her bedding. After Kagome was comfortable Sango sat down next to Miroku prepared to explain her side of the story and convince Inuyasha to send Kagome home.

"Kagome needs to go home," Sango frowned, "she needs to see what she calls a 'doctor'."

"Why? All that is wrong is her having trouble sleeping," Inuyasha shook his head, "we can't send her home just because she can't seem to sleep at night."

"It's worse then that. She has a large bruise on her side and she can't tell me how she got it. She just kept saying she fell off a gate in her dream. I think something is really wrong with her. I'm worried about her."

Inuyasha crouched beside Kagome, gently pealing her shirt back enough to see the darkness on her side that Sango had spoken of. Out of all the wounds Kagome had, had while there this was by far the worst of them all. Settling the shirt back into place, he pulled the blanket up to her neck and sighed.

"She will return home on the morrow. I'm not going to wake her to travel to the well tonight even if it's only a few hours away."

"Thanks, Inuyasha," Sango smiled softly, "if anyone can help her, it's one of her 'doctors'."

"Are you really okay with me going," Kagome asked from her spot on the side of the well.

"You need to get better," Inuyasha sighed, "go home, rest, see a 'doctor' and when you are better, come back, okay?"

"Okay," she smiled, leaning forward to hug him, "thank you, Inuyasha."

"Yeah, just don't think this will happen again," he gave her a friendly glare when he pulled back.

"Of course not," she waived his rude behaviour away with a laugh, "well, I'll see you later."

She jumped into the well and landed easily on the other side. The climb up the ladder seemed to take hours and the walk to the house drained her of any remaining energy. She had slept under two hours that night and really needed to catch up on all the sleep she had been missing. She entered her home to find it empty. Shrugging to herself, she climbed the stairs and clasped exhausted onto her bright pink sheets.

Every time she slept she was able to get further and further into that mansion. Several times she saw Kikyo and the strawberry blonde haired woman walking through the halls. She had faced all different kinds of ghosts, some hostile and angry and other peacefully and sad. It was disheartening to know that she couldn't seem to figure out why she was having these dreams. Maybe now she could share them with her mother and get their heavy weight lifted from her chest and some insight as to what they might be.

She sighed happily as her mind finally drifted off into sleep. As her eyes closed to allow the world on the other side take her, she caught sight of a little girl curled up hidden under her desk watching her. A shiver of fear danced down her spine as sleep finally claimed her.

_Opening her eyes she found herself laying on the ground of a cage like room. Wooden bars and a tiny cage door in front of her. Groaning she sat up and glanced at the desk Kikyo had been sitting at when she had first saw the room. It had been her luck that Kikyo was gone by the time she found the key and opened the door._

_She leaned forward and plucked the piece of parchment off the desk, shocked to find the same writing on it as the first two notes she had found. It had to have been what Kikyo was looking at. A frown marred her face as she read and re-read it._

It feels like I've been here forever. The days pass by so differently here then in the real world. I don't know how long it's been since I've woken up and actually seen the day. I'm trapped here, lost within this world full of pain and horror. I'm surprised I've avoided her this long, I'm sure something horrible would happen if she touched me.

I can see it in her eyes, the pain that she is going through. Who she is, I'm not sure but for whatever reason she is calling me, begging me to go deeper into her mansion, but I can't. If I go, if I follow them, my family, if I follow the dead I will never be able to return. As much as I miss my family, my mom, my dad, my brother and sister, as much as I miss them, I have to continue living. I have to live to show that our family is still alive.

For them, for me, I must survive, but how do I do that if I can't even get out of here? Everyday the thought of just going on begins to weight heavier, sounding better with every passing minute that I spend running from the ghosts around me. Will I become one of them? When I die, will that be my fate?

_Kagome frowned, folding the paper up and sticking it in the pocket of her jeans. The woman sounded so sad, so scared. She needed to find her. Even if this might be a dream, at least then she wouldn't be alone. Crawling she exited the small cage and entered into the main room. To her left was the door she had entered from, in her last dream, in front of her was a long hallway and to her right another door where a crimson butterfly sat on the door knob._

_Smiling at the creature she pulled the door open to find herself standing in a hallway that didn't look like it belonged to the mansion she had been exploring. Interest peeked, she crept down the stairs. She had the option to head upstairs or down another hallway and she chose for now to stay on this floor. Halfway down the hall she noticed light pouring in from a hole in the roof. As she drew closer she was shocked to feel a wave of cold pass over her and see snow falling from outside._

_It hadn't been snowing in the village. While the cloud cover had suggested that it would do so, it hadn't been. In fact the last dream she had it had been raining. Something triggered her to take a picture of the hole and she wasn't surprised to see a face develop on the image. Taking a deep breath of the freezing air she continued forward to explore._

_Suddenly a ghost with a large Chinese butcher knife began chasing her. She raced through the new mansion, twisting and turning, rushing through doors in hopes that the ghost would stop it's pursuit. Pushing open double doors a cold gust of air hit her as she ran into an area that looked like a mass grave. Not watching her path she ran into someone sending the two into a sprawling mess on the ground._

_The sound of a woman groaning brought Kagome's head up to stare at the same woman she had seen several nights before. Deep emerald green eyes opened and then widened in fear. She scrambled to stand and grabbed Kagome's hand and tugged the shocked woman to her feet._

"_Come on," she said, her voice urgent, "he is coming!"_

_Kagome glanced over her shoulder at the man that had been chasing her. Not giving it another thought she let the stranger pull her along leading her deeper into the house. They ran up two sets of stairs and across the roof. The door opened easily and Kagome stepped in to a small storage room. Inside was only a couple things to repair any damages to the building. The woman shut the door and leaned on it with a small sigh of relief._

"_How do you know he can't get here," Kagome asked nervously, feeling trapped in the small room._

"_He never comes in here," the woman said softly sliding to the floor, "this room has always remained ghost free for as long as I've been here. I come here when I need to escape and I can't find another place to hide out there."_

"_My name is Kagome," she smiled softly, "Higurashi Kagome."_

"_My name is Hitomi Akiri."_

"_It's nice to meet you Akiri."_

"_You didn't listen to my warning," she frowned, "you should have turned back."_

"_You were hurt! I couldn't just leave without knowing if you are okay."_

_Kagome looked her over, noticing quickly that the other woman looked malnourished, her skin was a greyish unhealthy looking colour. Her dress barely clung to her, showing that she had loss too much weight. Her eyes travelled down her legs and to the bottoms of her feet. The skin there was broken and bleeding in many different places. Rocks em-betted in the skin, making her cringe._

"_Let me help you," she offered, pulling one of the other woman's feet onto her lap._

"_I've gotten used to it," Akiri allowed the other woman to pluck the rocks from her feet and rip strips of her shirt off to bandage it._

"_It's really cold outside, how can you stand wearing that dress? Aren't you afraid you will get sick," Kagome questioned._

"_I'm used to it. You'll get used to it too," she sighed._

"_I just don't understand. One minutes I was in that other mansion and the next I was here, where is here any ways?"_

"_The mansions are all connected," she gestured backwards toward the door, "each mansion is different, but they all are the same. Shinto religions connect them in ways that they otherwise might not have been. You will figure out why you are here. I can't give you that answer because we each have our own reasons."_

_Kagome watched her closely, "I don't understand."_

"_You will. Read books, find scrolls. They are everywhere and they will help you understand. They will tell you why you are here and what purpose you serve."_

"_So you know why you are here?"_

"_Yes, because I share her pain," Akiri sighed, "but that doesn't matter. What matters is getting you out of here."_

"_How do we do that? And if I go, you have to come with me."_

_She let out a semi-dark chuckle, "that's only if someone can wake me."_

"_What do you mean?"_

_Kagome's question hung in the air as Akiri stood and peeked out the door. She stepped out onto the small balcony. Gesturing for her to follow, the red head lead her back the way they had came. Kagome wanted to stop her, to force the woman to tell her what was going on here, but she knew she wasn't ready to talk. The halls blurred by her, hours seeming to pass as they walked along._

_During their time together Kagome asked question after question. She found out that Akiri was the only living person in her family line. She learned that she was also part American and was only visiting Japan as a way to feel close to her father's side of her family. She had also confirmed her thoughts on the woman's age. Akiri was eighteen, one year older then herself._

_Akiri told her about America and all of her friend there. Saying she had always been an outcast most of her life because she could see things that other people couldn't see. She learned that throughout her childhood Akiri had taken many kind of martial arts courses as well as played many sports, she enjoyed her active lifestyle._

_After Akiri spoke all about her life and everything about herself, Kagome began to tell her stories of the past and her friend. Akiri listened intently, soaking up every word that she spoke. She told her all about the youkais and hanyous, about her family waiting for her back home in her time and how different things really were in the past._

_She had just finished explaining that she was sent home by her group when her eyes suddenly grew heavy. Her feet stilled and she swayed in her spot. Akiri turned around in shock, reaching out to steady her._

"_Kagome, Kagome," Akiri gasped, "are you okay? What's wrong?"_

"Kagome, Kagome," a familiar voice called to her.

Opening her dazzling blue eyes she was shocked to find her mom sitting on the side of her bed. In a cry of happiness she sat up and wrapped her arms around her mother, squeezing just a bit tighter to prove to herself this was real. Her mom returned the hug before pushing her away from her with a worried look on her face.

"I was just getting ready to put some clean clothes away and was surprised to find you sleeping here. I thought you were still in the past."

"I was, but I haven't slept well so Inuyasha sent me home!"

"When did you get here?"

"Monday."

"You have been asleep since Monday," her mom asked shocked.

"You mean it's not Monday?"

"No honey, it's Thursday."

"Thursday," she whispered in shock, "maybe I should see a doctor."

"Did Inuyasha say you should," her mom asked getting off the bed and placing the clean clothes away.

"It was suggested," Kagome nodded.

"I'll set up an appointment for later today," her mom frowned, "take a shower and get dressed, okay?"

A long shower and a few hours later found Kagome in a doctor's office with her mother. The man in the white coat listened to Kagome and frowned. His solution was to give her pills that would keep her awake. He couldn't find a single thing wrong with her or a reason as to why she was sleeping days at a time.

Kagome stared down at the innocent bottle filled with pills as her mother drove her home. She had the urge to chuck it out the window, but she refrained, merely choosing to glare at it instead. She followed her mom up the stairs and into the house. The older woman moved into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

She entered her bedroom and sat down on her bed, contemplating on if she should take the pills or if she should just let her body ride this out. After all she had left Akiri all by herself, even if it only was a dream. She wondered if the other woman was lonely. Shaking her head of such silly thoughts she set the pills on her night stand and laid down.

_Used to the rude awakening into her dreams, Kagome simply sat up and stretched. She looked around finding herself in an unfamiliar hallway. The door in front of her looked different then all the other doors she had seen in either mansion. Glancing around once more she realized that Akiri was missing, the only evidence that the woman had been there was a set of bloody footprints._

_Standing she opened the door in front of her, finding herself once more in a different mansion. Akiri had said something about there being more then two mansions combined. With a frustrated sigh she pushed further into the mansion. When would these dreams end, when would she be allowed to sleep at night without running from ghosts or trying to find her way through room after room._

_She walked down the hallway, ropes hung down eerily from the ceiling, their tips stained in blood. She avoided each, not wishing to touch them. At the end of the hallway a single door to her left stood. Pushing the wood it slid back easily, opening to a large room with the middle of the floor collapsed in._

_Kagome barely had time to take in the room before she was gripped by her neck, dangling above the floor. She tried to breathe, her hands gripping the wrist that held her. Her blue eyes flew up to the face of her captor. A strangled gasp left her lips when she recognised the golden eyes glaring daggers at her._

"_Sesshomaru," she whispered around the restriction._

_A shocked look shone in his eyes while his face remained impassive. Slowly he set her back on her feet and released her neck. A grateful smile graced her lips as she rubbed the bruising flesh. She looked up to see him, Sesshomaru, her best friend's older half-brother, looking just as he always did in the past._

"_How is it you are here miko," he asked with a raised eyebrow, "the hanyou told me you returned home."_

"_But, I am home," she furrowed her brow, "I don't know why I'm here to be honest."_

"_How long have you been here," he glanced over his shoulder._

"_A couple weeks maybe," she guessed, "why is something wrong?"_

"_Rin has gone missing."_

"_Oh," her eyes widened, "and you think she is here?"_

"_My nose says she is," he glanced back down at her._

"_Would you let me help," she asked meekly afraid the lord would turn her down._

"_Rin would be upset if something happened to you," he turned and walked to the other wall where an angry looking mask was hung._

"_Well, I guess I should thank her later," Kagome giggled nervously._

_Sesshomaru merely nodded as he prodded at the wall, "do you know how to work this?"_

"_It's an old age secret door. The lever that the mask hangs on opens the lock," Kagome gently pushed the left side of the wall, letting the piece of wall spin._

_She stepped through and waited for Sesshomaru as he followed. She should be afraid, she should be worried about spending time here with Sesshomaru but she couldn't find it in herself to worry. This was just a dream and it didn't hurt to be around someone so she wasn't alone. He stepped up beside her, glancing down at her briefly._

"_Tell me, miko, have you seen any others here?"_

"_Are you talking about the ghosts," she asked knowingly._

"_The creatures that can not be killed," he corrected, not wanting to believe in the existence of ghosts._

"_Yeah, I've seen them around," she pulled the camera up from her side where it had be hanging off the shoulder strap, "this seems to scare them and send them away for a short time, but they always come back."_

"_Are you not afraid," he asked seriously._

"_Why should I be," she shrugged, "Akiri says they can't actually harm you, they just make you feel the pain they suffered in death."_

"_Akiri?"_

"_She is an American girl, trapped in the mansions too," Kagome smiled_

_Sesshomaru remained silent, his eyes not leaving the walkways in front of them. Kagome almost hit her forehead for her stupidity. Sesshomaru had no clue there were other mansions and there was no way he knew what America was._

"_You know," she started, "I am not from your time. I'm actually born five hundred years in the future. I got pulled down my family's well and ended up meeting Inuyasha and the gang after the jewel was ripped from my side. In my time, America is what we call the mass of land to the East of ours. Our land is actually called Japan where I'm from."_

_He watched her out of the corner of his eye, "it certainly explains you."_

_Kagome flushed, "and there are other mansions here. I had actually just been in a mansion that Akiri dubbed the 'Manor of Sleep' before I found you in this one."_

"_Indeed. It will be difficult to find my ward if she has wondered into a different mansion."_

"_It's always possible, but I have been all over in the other two mansions and I never saw her at all."_

"_Tell me miko, why have you strayed from the hanyou?"_

"_What do you mean? I still travel with him," she frowned._

"_While you remain there in body, your heart no longer resides there by his side."_

"_Oh," she sighed, "I care for Inuyasha, he is my best friend and I would do anything to protect him, but I have to do something for myself. I have to give myself the same chance to be happy as I have given him. His heart would never have been mine. It was time for me to move forward and find someone who could love me just as I loved them."_

"_My half-brother is a fool," he stated, startling her._

_She looked up at him in shock, unsure on what to take the meaning of his words as. Not sure she wanted to know she continued down the path. Her thoughts turned to the woman that was probably still searching the other mansion without her. A frown tugged at her lips, she wanted to be there for the other woman, but she wanted to help Sesshomaru find Rin._

"_You may go if you find that your other obligations are in greater need," Sesshomaru spoke softly, easily picking up her mixed emotions._

"_I just worry about Akiri," she shook her head, "I want to find Rin first."_

"_She has been asking for you."_

"_Really? I miss her too."_

"_Is the reason you stay away, this Sesshomaru?"_

"_Oh no," Kagome waved her hands in front of her, "of course not! It's actually Inuyasha. He says even though Naraku is gone, there are still threats out there and he believes you are one of them."_

"_And you do not?"_

"_Well," she laughed, "I know you could kill me with a flick of your wrist, but you have more honour then that. After all we became allies in the end and your honour would keep you from killing me simply because it would dishonour my memory of helping you that day."_

"_You are wise," he pushed the next door open, holding it for her to walk through._

"_I really don't think Rin went this way," Kagome walked over to the large stone doors on the other side of the blood stained raised circle surrounded by five wooden turners._

_She touched the doors before turning around to glanced over the room. Sesshomaru stood at the door they entered from, watching her carefully. Kagome touched one of the wooden pillars. Glancing back at the raised stone surface she frowned in thought. She knew she had heard or seen this somewhere._

"_Shinto," Kagome whispered, "it's a Shinto religion, it's a sacrificial area for the Kamis."_

"_What do you know?"_

_She glanced up at Sesshomaru and frowned, "it's the ritual of the Rope Shrine Maiden. I've read stories about it here in the mansion. They take a woman of purity, like myself and turn them into a Shrine Maiden. When she comes of age, they lay her down on this and use ropes to pull her limb from limb. After her death they take the stained ropes and tie them in front of hell's gate to keep it closed. If the Shine Maiden is pure, the ropes will hold up and the doors will remain closed. If the Maiden isn't pure or has worldly attachments, the doors will open and calamity will spill into our world."_

"_Then it is possible that the gates are open," he glanced at the dried blood in the crevices of the floor._

"_It explains why two people who have never seen a ghost in our life can now suddenly see them everywhere," Kagome walked over to him, "I think we should try the other mansions, maybe Rin will be there."_

"_Already twelve hours have passed since you joined me, we must pick up the pace."_

"_Are you serious," Kagome asked._

_He nodded gravely, "I can tell the passing of time even here. Let us go."_

_As she led him through the dream manor and into All God's Village, she filled the silence with tales of her time. Sesshomaru listened, randomly telling her tales of his childhood. She smiled, knowing she would love to see the real Sesshomaru like this, instead of only in her dreams. She blushed when she realized that she was dreaming about the handsome Taiyoukai._

_He was in her dreams with her, he was treating her well, as if she was an equal. He talked more and even gave her information about himself. She almost laughed out loud when she thought of how the information he was giving her were stories she had made up about his past, things she had believed he had done when he was little._

"_Do you find my misfortune funny, miko," Sesshomaru asked her, humour dancing in his eyes._

"_You have to admit," she laughed, "you falling into a pond and having your father fish you out is rather funny."_

"_I was merely attempting to get mother her favourite flower," his lip twitched ever so slightly._

"_A water lilly," Kagome smiled, "they are beautiful."_

"_You know of them?"_

"_I know of many flowers," she nodded, "my favourite is actually an orchid, but they don't grow wild as much in the future as they do the past."_

"_Orchid," he nodded, "it suits you."_

_She smiled up at him, "thank you. I mean, for being so open with me," she blushed, "it's just. The last few weeks I've been so lonely and so isolated. It really is a lot easier to travel through these mansions with someone."_

_Sesshomaru gave a slight nod before he froze in place. Kagome held her breath, having learned that when he turned this way a ghost was nearby. She shivered at the thought of having another run in with the creatures that could not be killed. Turning slightly she glanced over her shoulder to see a woman standing at the end of the hall. Her body was covered in blue tattoos, she wore no shirt only a pair of hakamas._

"_Sesshomaru," she whispered, "Akiri said don't let her touch you."_

"_I understand."_

"_We should run," she stated when the woman began to come towards them._

_A rush of air and Sesshomaru was gone. Kagome stared in utter fear as the woman continued to stalk towards her. Unsure of what to do, she took off running heading for the manor of dreams. She dashed through the rooms, her fear riding high in her heart. She cursed, wishing Sesshomaru had grabbed her when he took off._

"_Over here," Akiri yelled, waving her over, "this way!"_

"_Help me," Kagome cried out in fear._

_Akiri pushed her into the room and shut the door, leaving herself the only one in the hallway with the blue tattooed woman. Kagome beat on the door, screaming for Akiri to come with her._

"_Go Kagome," Akiri commanded, "once she touched me she will try to go after you. Run! Run and head to the third floor. Stay in that room I showed you! Go!"_

_Kagome felt tears drip down her cheeks when she heard Akiri's pained filled scream. She ran as she was instructed, racing through the halls trying to find her way to the third floor. The stairs left her breathless but she didn't stop till she was cramped up in the small room hidden off the side of the roof._

_Drying her tears she looked up at the room around her. Something was off. The door that they had moved from the far wall was back in it's original place. Silently walking over to it, she tried to calm her heavy breath as her nerves ran high. Fear filled her being, but she didn't stop. Grabbing the edge of the door she pulled it, in her shock she allowed the wood to fall slamming hard against the floor. Behind the door, Rin was huddled. She was curled into the wall, her hands covering her face to hide herself from whatever had found her._

"_Rin-chan," Kagome gasped, gathering the small girl into her arms._

"_Kagome-chan," she clung to her with tears dripping down her face, "I was so scared. I followed this little girl into the mansion, she said she needed help, but it's so scary here! Then this really nice yellow-red haired lady told me she knew a safe place where I could sleep."_

"_Sesshomaru is looking for you," Kagome said softly, "he will find us and he will help you out of here. But for now, I think you should stay here."_

"_Will you come back for me," Rin asked pitifully._

"_Of course, I would never dream of leaving you behind. But, Akiri got really hurt by the blue lady and I need to make sure she is okay."_

_The door opened and Akiri stumbled in, slamming hard into the wall, sliding down into a crumpled mess on the floor. She moaned in pain, a blue tattoo forming on her chest, spreading outwards. Kagome gently set Rin down and moved over to the woman who had saved them both more then once._

"_Akiri," Kagome whispered, "are you okay?"_

"_She touched me," her voice was weak, "I can feel her pain."_

"_We will take care of you," Kagome assured her, helping her into a more comfortable position._

"_Do not bother," Akiri sighed as tears leaked down the sides of her face, "I shall die within a few weeks. Those who are touched by her, always die."_

"_No," Kagome shook her head, "no, we are going to do what we can!"_

"_Don't let her touch you The blue lady, the shine maiden, or the twins. Don't let them touch you."_

"_But, the twin... she already," she whispered fearfully._

"_You are marked," Akiri coughed, "you must find a way out, and hurry. Each spirit must be put to rest."_

"_How, how do we do that," Kagome begged._

"_Restore the mirror, push her body across shore, and kill her."_

"_What does that mean?"_

"_You will know," Akiri's eyes closed, her chest rising and falling peacefully in sleep._

"_I think I know the first one," Rin said softly, pulling a piece of broken mirror out of her kimono, "the little girl pointed to this before I was chased by a crazy lady."_

_Kagome pulled the piece into her hands and looked it over, "still doesn't tell me how or where I need to put this, or how many pieces are left. I need more then just three clues."_

"_Maybe you already know what they are, you just have to put the pieces together," Rin hummed softly, curling up next to Akiri to sleep._

"_I'll be back," Kagome kissed her temple before leaving._

'I'll start in the mansion with the Rope Shrine Maiden. I know the story of that ritual better, it's where the mirror is suppose to go. I'm sure of it,'_ Kagome sighed with a shake of her head._

_Hours passed as she searched the mansion top to bottom. After many ghosts chasing her, many different traps and secret doors later she still could only find four pieces. The mirror was only missing one piece and no matter where she looked she couldn't find the last piece or Sesshomaru._

_A door to her left opened and she prepared herself to start running. A hand on her shoulder stopped her, glancing back she was glad to find herself looking into familiar gold eyes._

"_You scared me," she grinned._

"_I see that," he glanced her over, "you smell of Rin."_

"_I found her," she nodded, "she is safe. Though, my friend got hurt because of you."_

"_How is that so?"_

"_You didn't take me with you when you ran from the blue lady," Kagome frowned, "I ran, but I wasn't fast enough. Akiri threw herself in front of her to let me get away, she was suffering and covered in blue tattoos on her chest when I left. She claims she will die because of this and not to let the blue lady, the shrine maiden or the twins touch you.."_

"_The shrine maiden has already laid her hands upon this Sesshomaru's person," he pulled back his sleeves to show her the rope marks upon his writs in between the magenta stripes._

"_I guess it's good that I decided to solve this puzzle before the others," Kagome smiled softly, __"you wouldn't happen to know where a broken piece of holy mirror is, would you?"_

_Sesshomaru reached into his haori and pulled out the missing piece, offering it to her. Kagome smiled brightly, grabbing the piece gently from him._

"_Would you like to come with me?"_

"_I shall accompany you."_

"_Thanks."_

_They turned and left, walking back to the place where the raised white stone lay stained in blood. Sesshomaru pushed open the stone doors on the other side and slowly they walked down the long paths._

"_I get a bad feeling about this," Kagome shivered as the air began to cool._

"_You can turn back, I can continue on if you prefer," he offered._

"_No, I can do this."_

"_We met up several days ago, are you not tired with exhaustion yet?"_

"_I'm not tired," she shook her head and continued forward._

_A large gate appeared before them, good size rock placed in front of it. Quickly, Kagome placed the mirror back together and as she was setting it down in it's rightful resting place a woman appeared, grabbing her and yanking her roughly backwards. She startled, her shriek echoing around them._

_Sesshomaru watched in shock as the woman began to drag Kagome toward the gate to hell. He picked up the mirror she had dropped and forced it into the depression in the rock. A bright light lit up the area forcing the two humans there to close their eyes tight._

"_Sesshomaru," Kagome screamed hoping he was okay._

"_Miko," he responded, his voice sure and free of any pain._

_Relief flooded her as the light dimmed. Behind her, ropes tied the door closed, a woman's body hung in between them. Kagome frowned, trying to gain her barrings. An Earthquake rumbled the surrounding area as her eyelids began to droop. The last thing she remembered was the feel of Sesshomaru picking her up._

Kagome shot up and out of bed. Her feet carried her down the stairs and into the kitchen. Breakfast was cooked, set out upon the table where the other three members of her house were sitting. She glanced between them all, confused why it wasn't night time.

"Kagome, dear," her mom frowned, "you didn't take your medicine and have been sleeping the last week. Come, sit down and eat something. You are starting to look thin. I think we better take you back to the doctor."

Silently she sat down at the table and forced herself to eat even though she wasn't as hungry as her body looked. She sighed, wanting nothing more to fall asleep and see if Sesshomaru was able to find Rin. After she finished eating she went back to her room sitting down on her bed with a heavy heart.

Her mom walked in, sitting down next to her, "Kagome. Is there something you aren't telling me?"

"My dreams, mom. They seem so real," Kagome frowned, "Sesshomaru and his ward Rin were in them this time. Akiri got hurt and her pain seemed so real, like she was truly suffering."

"Akiri," her mom asked, "where did you hear that name?"

"She told me. Her name is Akiri Hitomi."

"Kagome," her mom said gently, "Akiri Hitomi is currently in the hospital. She fell asleep one day and hasn't woken since. She was living here with her sister, when her sister died in a car crash. Several months later she went to sleep and just never woke up. It's been almost a year since that day."

She looked at her mom in shock, "I'm going to go. I got to see if it's the same person!"

"Be careful Kagome," her mom's words followed her into the bathroom, "I hear she has been spirited away."

Kagome let her mother's warning echo in her mind as she washed her body, dressed and got ready. She pushed her feet into her shoes and then left on the long hour walk it would take to make it to the hospital. She ignored the sights or the people around her, her mind determined to figure out what was happening to her.

The hospital was busy that day, people rushing around, doctors and nurses caring for patiences. She strode up to the desk and waited for the receptionist to acknowledge her. The woman behind the counter looked up from her work and smiled.

"I was wondering if Akiri Hitomi was here," Kagome asked gently.

The smile on the woman's face fell, "you are her first visitor since she was admitted."

Kagome followed silently as the nurse showed her to the room that held comma patients. She walked forward into the room, her heart beating fast in her chest. In the middle bed a beautiful woman laid, at the age of eighteen, her silky strawberry blonde hair laying around her like a shining halo. Tears leaked down her cheeks as she caught sight of the blue tattoo like marks on her chest. There was no denying it, Akiri was alive and her dreams, really weren't dreams.

They were reality.


	3. No Return

**A/N: **I'm sorry that it took so long to get this chapter out. I was busy writing chapters 3 and 4 for To Cure the Curse. I'll try to work more equally on both stories from now on, but I can't promise anything. Expanded my family! Alessa and I adopted a pitt bull lab puppy from the pound. Princess, my daughter named her, is an amazing dog. However, her chart said she was dog friendly and I found out the hard way that she is not. But, things are going great and we are proud to keep her as a part of our family.

**Pandora-of-the-south: **Thank you for being the first to review my story! I'm glad you like it! I hope this chapter wasn't a disappointment!

* * *

**Night 3: No Return**

"Koga," Miroku said calmly, trying to head off the fight before it could start, "we aren't accusing you of anything. We merely asked if you know of that valley and why your ookamis may have been there."

The Prince sighed, "we passed though that valley many moons ago. When we made it to the other side, we noticed that many of our pack had gone missing in the confusion."

"What kind of confusion," Sango asked.

"We don't know," he frowned, "we came upon a mansion and when we walked through it and came out on the other side we noticed we were short a few dozen ookamis."

"We didn't see any mansion," Inuyasha butted it.

"Well maybe," the ookami glared at him, "you just didn't look close enough. Why don't I show you? Maybe if they are still alive we can bring them home."

"Are you sure you want to go, Koga? Remember last time," Ginta shivered.

Hakkaku nodded, "it was creepy."

Koga rolled his eyes, "come on, if something happened to Kagome because she walked through there we have to figure it out and help her."

"Right," both the boys agreed.

The walk back the way they had came was awkward. Days passed in utter silence and nights weighted heavy making sleep difficult. After several days the valley appeared before them and they entered slowly. Something about the valley seemed different then last time. It could have been the massive fog that now covered the lands, but everyone present was sure something else was going on there.

"Over here," Koga called out waving them forward.

Around the bend where Koga stood was a large mansion. The ground around it killed, barren of life. The windows were dark and the obvious signs of ageing spoke of a castle that hadn't seen life in many years, if not centuries.

"Should we go in," Sango asked determinedly, "if this is connected with Kagome somehow we have to help her."

"It looks abandoned," Inuyasha peered though one of the windows on the side of the building, "there is no way they are in a place like this."

"What if you are wrong and we pass up this chance? What do we have to lose if we look inside," Sango challenged.

"Fine! We will have a look around," Inuyasha grunted with a roll of his eyes, "if we find nothing we will leave."

Miroku shivered at the sudden cold feeling tingling down his spine. He reached out and pushed open the front doors, walking in without regarding his friends. He could hear their footsteps following him. Ginta, the last one in, turned and shut the door.

"Should we split up, or stay together," Hakkaku whispered, not liking the feel of the place.

"Just pick a way and go," Inuyasha snarled, pushing past the ningens and into the house.

Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kirara chose the door on the right. Koga, Ginta and Hakkaku chose the door on the left. Hours later found the two groups gathered in a courtyard at the very back of the house. The only place they had yet to explore was the odd building in front of them, the air around them heavy with silence and foreboding.

Inuyasha's hand enclosed around the handle, his fingers just beginning to turn the knob.

"No," a female voice cried out from the building to their left, the building Koga and his group had just came from, "don't open that door!"

She raced down the stairs, panting. Her reddish blond hair clung to her damp face, her sickly pale skin glowed in the moonlight. Blue snake and holly tattoos shined dully across her chest and right arm. Blood dripped down her left leg from a large wound on her thigh.

"Why not? Who the hell are you," Inuyasha demanded, removing his hand from the door as she had commanded.

"My name is Akiri," she offered, not answered his first question.

"Your feet, their bleeding," Sango pointed out.

"Yes," she answered not sure what was so important about her feet.

"Mama must be here," Shippo exclaimed.

"Why do you think Kagome is here," Miroku looked curiously at the kit.

Sango answered, "several weeks ago Kagome woke up from a dream saying that the girl's feet were bleeding. She must have been talking about you."

Akiri nodded, "Kagome is indeed here. She is off searching for the secrets of her own reason for being called here. Why have you all come? Why are you all here?"

"To find Kagome, of course," Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"You should have left Kagome's safety to me. She released Sesshomaru and Rin from their rolls within the mansions, now all that is left is releasing her. You coming here will do nothing but put your lives in danger," Akiri glanced back towards the mansion.

"My half-brother and his ward was here? What the hell is going on," Inuyasha snarled, jumping from his perch to land in front of her.

They were all surprised when she didn't even flinch. Her eyes staring at him unblinkingly and unperturbed. He frowned at her, baring his fangs, but still no reaction.

"Kagome has spoken about what you are Inuyasha. You provide me with less fear then any other creature that resides here in this mansion."

"What is it that resides in this mansion," Miroku stepped forward, trying once again to head off Inuyasha's anger.

"They are creatures that can not be killed. Do not allow them to touch you. The pain you will find at their touch will be far worse then any pain you will ever experience in your life. Now that you are trapped here, it will do you well to keep moving. Never sit down, do not rest. Don't stop moving until you can find a way out of here. If you would like I will show you relatively where Kagome is."

"You don't know where she is," Koga asked angrily.

"She and I decided to part ways. She is required in All God's Village while I'm required here in the Mansion of Sleep."

"Please, take us to Kagome," Sango begged, clutching Shippo tight to her chest.

"I will show you the way. You must not be here when I open that door," her eyes lingered on the door Inuyasha had previously been trying to open.

"What's behind that door," Ginta asked fearfully, as she began leading the way through the mansion.

"The Priestess. She has awaken from her slumber and it's up to me to help her deal with her death, lest I wish to join her."

"Stop dancing around the truth and tell us what is going on," Inuyasha demanded, placing his hand on her shoulder, his claws digging into the skin there.

She glanced at the marks, watching the blood bead and roll down her chest to gather in the white fabric of her dress. She sighed, gently prying his fingers from her skin. She couldn't afford to lose much more blood and he wasn't making this easy on her.

"The Manor of Sleep was a place filled with a family that firmly believed in the Shinto religion. To keep the door of hell closed they raised a girl to become a pure maiden. One that had no worldly attachments. She would slowly be tattooed with a blue ink in the form of snake and holly to take on the pain of all the people in the world that came to their shrine and grieved. The ink was filled with ashes of lost loved ones, or tears spilt from the sadness many felt.

"Hours she would lay under the needle undertaking the painful ink to allow other's piece of mind, freed of their burdens. When she was completely covered in tattoos, they would take her down to an alter where shrine maidens would take stakes and hammer the nails through her hands and feet to keep her pinned there forever. Alive, holding on to the sadness of all those that suffered and keeping the gates of hell closed.

"But, the last Priestess had fallen in love with a man who wasn't even suppose to be there. He snuck down to the room where all the other Priestess and herself had been pinned. She had yet to fall asleep into her eternal slumber and she watched as the man she loved was murdered right before her eyes. The tattoos leaked into her eyes, causing the doors of hell to open.

"I must send her and her lover across the river Styx to rest in peace on the other side and close the doors of hell. If I do not," she touched her shoulder, "these tattoos will consume me and I too will become a ghost haunting these halls."

"A ghost haunting the halls," Shippo whispered, "like that one?"

Standing in front of the door that lead to All God's Village was a ghost, his hands holding a large butcher knife that dripped in blood. Her eyes widened fearfully, her hand automatically touching the large gash on her left leg that still bled.

"Run, follow me and run," she exclaimed turning around leading them to her safe room.

The room was completely cramped as they all tried to find a way to sit inside the small place. Her leg burnt in agony, blood now completely coated her skin. She groaned, tears filling her eyes as the flesh throbbed.

"That man we saw," Miroku said, "he did that to you, didn't he?"

"I got too close earlier. I wasn't paying attention and tried to go to Kagome, but he was there. I thought that since he chased me many rooms away that he would leave, trying to find me, but I guess he stayed after he cornered me and sliced my leg open."

"Canine saliva has healing abilities," Koga pointed out.

"I'm not licking that wound," Inuyasha bunched up his nose that the thought of licking such an intimate place on a stranger.

"I wasn't suggesting you, dog-breath," Koga rolled his eyes, "if you allow me, I can close that wound."

"Do not worry about me," she grinned, "I'm just a lonely girl that has no home, no family, and no friends to speak of. If I die here, it makes no difference then if I lived. I have nothing to go back to, nothing to look forward too."

"Mama would not like hearing you say that," Shippo stated.

"Just let me help," Koga moved forward, taking a seat in front of her.

She blushed prettily, "oh... okay."

Slowly and nervously she bared her thigh, blushing even further when Koga leaned down and began to lick the wound. A mix of sharp pain and gentle pleasure resounded through her body with every touch of his tongue. She shivered and whimpered in agony, her eyes closed as teared dripped down her face.

The taste of her exploded on his tongue. Her blood was rich and sweet. He let out a soft pleased growl that only the non-humans heard. In all his life he had never tasted blood as pleasing as her's. He couldn't stop himself from licking around the wound to clean the drying blood from the skin there as well.

Inuyasha's fists clinched closed, his nailed digging into his palms. This girl had been helping Kagome, keeping her safe and alive and here she was practically withering in pain and there was no way he could relieve her pain in exchange for her help. She would have to endure the torture, but he silently vowed to eventually give her something in exchange for all that she had done for his friend.

Koga pulled back, inspecting the red puckered flesh. No longer did blood spill from the wound, but the signs of infection were high.

"How long have you been walking around with this injury," his bright blue eyes glanced up catching her shimmering emerald ones.

Her breath caught for a moment, stunned at how handsome the man before her truly was, "several days. There are no health items. The building is so old and unused no medicine resides here and the snow falling outside keeps the herbs from growing."

"Are you trying to get yourself killed," Inuyasha snapped.

"Maybe I am," she answered honestly, "it will be a fight, a struggle, but I think I will be able to get you past that butcher. I'm not sure how he is still there, when I watched him commit suicide. His ghost should still be in that room."

"What are you talking about," Sango asked softly.

"Nothing," she shook her head, "don't mind my muttering. It's been a long time since I've been around other living company so forgive my odd mannerisms."

"I can run us past," Inuyasha offered.

"He is a ghost, he can walk through walls. You will have to be incredibly fast and you will not be able to slow down until he has given up chase. The mansion that we will enter to reach All God's Village, I have only been in once. I'm not to familiar with the halls as I am the Manor of Sleep. So, if I get us lost or trapped, you will have to forgive me."

"Don't worry," Miroku smiled reassuringly at her, "we will figure something out."

"Kagome has the map. If you find her, she can lead you wherever it is she needs to go," Akiri's eyes dropped, "I haven't slept in weeks. Forgive me."

The words barely left her lips before she nodded off into the realms of pure darkness. The others remained silent, soaking in her words of warning and her odd ramblings that were hanging in the air around them.

"What do we do? Wait for her to wake," Hakkaku asked.

"We don't know what we are dealing with here," Sango offered, "it's best to wait till we have her awake and able to help us."

"If we get lost and she can't find us, who knows what would happen," Miroku nodded.

"I don't want to rely on that woman. She is obviously not from the past," Inuyasha's eyes raked over the dim white night gown that clung to her body that was very obviously malnourished.

"Even if she is from the future like Mama, she knows all the hidden rooms and traps of this place," Shippo stated, "we need her."

"Shippo is right," Koga nodded in agreement, "as much as I don't want to be stuffed up in this small room with the lot of you, we have no choice but to wait."

* * *

Akiri groaned as she woke, her eyes blinking open wearily. A soft smile spread across her face when she was greeted with eight pair of relieved eyes. Slowly she sat up from her slumped position against the wall. Her head swam for a moment before she stood. Stretching, she winced when the muscle in her leg pulled.

"Should we get started? We have a long way to walk to make it back to that hallway," she gestured to the small door.

"Let me just jump us down from the roof, so we don't have to take all the side rooms," Inuyasha insisted.

The group exited the room, slowly they all made it to the small courtyard of the grave burial below.

"This is where I first truly met Kagome. She ran straight into me, running from that man with the butcher knife," she glanced at the graves, "I was trying to figure out why these graves are here. These graves are the carpenters that help build the mansion. They were killed afterwards to keep the layout of this mansion secret."

"Are you serious," Hakkaku gasped.

"There were other's the more important ones. They were built into the walls. A way to keep the place protected, however all it did was cause more hauntings now that the ghosts have been released. Come now, the sooner we get out of here the better. I can feel them, they are starting to stir," she shivered leading them down the halls.

"What is starting to stir," Ginta asked, his voice wavering.

"The ones that haunt this mansion."

They remained silent, feeling the tension in the air as they once more came upon the door the butcher had been guarding. He was not there, instead red crimson butterflies danced happily in front of the door. Akiri rushed forward and pushed the door opening, waving for them to follow her.

"If you see people in the mansion, do not call to them, do not look at them for long. If you make eye contact, run. Do not let them touch you. Try not to get separated," she crept forward through the halls.

The sound of a boy laughing and footsteps echoed around them.

"Where are you," a little boy asked as if he was playing hide and go seek.

Shippo opened his mouth to respond, jumping when Akiri's hand closed over his mouth. She shook her head no, gesturing for them to continue forward. In a room with a stair case a ball bounced down the stairs and a young girl called from above.

"Throw it back."

Akiri once again shook her head and lead them out the door. Finally the main door of the building appeared and she led them outside. The gate was open showing them the large red bridge. The butterflies from before dancing happily on the cool breeze. Akiri moved forward and stopped in the center, watching the sky.

"This is a village that disappeared on the night of a ritual. Another of the Shinto religion. It's up to Kagome to figure it out and discover what needs to be done to save this village and all those within it."

"There are people here," Miroku asked softly appearing beside her.

"No, but their spirits remain," she looked at him.

He stepped back in shock at the hollow, scarred look in her eyes. He took in a deep breath, noticing just how pale and sickly she looked. The tattoo now covered her left arm. She followed his gaze and gave a mirthless laugh.

"I must go," she turned heading back toward the mansion, "find Kagome and with it, find a way out. You must protect her, but at the same time allow whatever befalls her to happen."

They watched her walk slowly back to the doors they had just left, standing in the doorway was a woman covered head to foot in similar tattoos to the ones marked on Akiri's body wearing only a pair of blue hakamas.

"I'll go with her," Koga stated, "you guys find Kagome. I'm going to make sure she stays alive."

"We will come too," Ginta said determinedly.

"No, stay with Inuyasha," Koga shook his head, racing off after the vanishing red head.

"He has a death wish," Inuyasha grunted.

"Akiri doesn't know the layout of the village, how do you suppose we find Kagome, exactly," Miroku glanced back to the bridge.

"We will just walk till we find her, I guess. It can't be that big, it's only a village."

"It's a statue," Sango murmured, kneeling down next to a small stone near the bridge, "Kagome told me about a statue in her dreams. It looks just like it."

"A statue of twins," Miroku hummed, "I heard once there was a village that believed those who were born twins, were only done so because had they been born as one person, they would have been a God. The eldest, or second born, would have to kill the youngest, or first born, in order for them to become one."

"That is disturbing," Hakkaku shivered, "did it even work?"

"They believed so," Miroku shrugged, "but it was always unclear if it actually worked."

"Um guys," Ginta's voice was filled with fear, "there is... there is a little girl behind us... she is... she is covered in blood."

A maniacal laughter filled the air, causing fear to spike through the group. The girl slowly descended the stairs, making her way towards them. As her feet hit the ground, a cry from the bridge drew their attention.

"No," Kagome begged, turning and racing across the wooden structure.

The gates open and closed, taking Kagome from their sight. The girl vanished instantly, as if what they had seen was merely a vision of the past.

"I don't understand what just happened here," Ginta whispered, "did we just see Kagome, or was this something that just happened recently?"

"This place is filled with ghosts, it doesn't work like our world does," Miroku began walking towards the gate, "that was a vision, something that happened at one point here, but is not actually happening now. Kagome is somewhere in the village itself."

"That gate," Sango pointed towards it, "Kagome mentioned once that she climbed over a gate and fell. Do you think this is where she got that horrible bruise?"

"If only we had believed mama," Shippo whimpered, "maybe we could have came and saved her sooner."

"Well, we are here now," Inuyasha marched forward, "we will figure this out and we will find her."

* * *

Kagome ducked through the hole in the tree. The large trunk had been carved out and inside was a shine filled with red pin wheels. A small box sat open and inside it was a puzzle, shaped much like the pin wheels that surrounded it, that she had already solved.

Sitting down on the dirt floor, she pulled the pictures from her pocket. Setting them in front of her she studied them closely. The two that caught her attention most were the picture of a white haired boy and a picture of Kikyo, standing in front of the mansion doors. A shiver danced down her spine at the memories.

_Having searched the building for a third time with no clues on how to move forward, Kagome had decided her best bet was to explore the other houses. She had been pleasantly surprised to find that the cellar door was unlocked allowing her to exit the mansion. The air was cool and the dark clouds blocked out the moons raise. A slight breeze blew causing goose bumps to appear on her skin._

_As she walked across the bridge she felt as if someone was watching her. Having been here long enough, she knew it was probably true. Calming her rapidly beating heart she turned to find Kikyo standing in front of the main doors. Her eyes were downcast, staring at the ground. Bringing up her camera she snapped a picture._

_As the film developed she pulled the contraption away from her face. Utter horror filled her as Kikyo vanished and the crazed twin took her place and began advancing on her._

"_No," she cried out in fear._

_She turned on her heels and raced out the gate and down the roads, back towards the way she had originally came._

She picked up the picture of the white haired boy. He was a ghost, she knew that, but he spoke to her as if he could hear her. He had told her what they were planning to do, to Yae and Sae. Sae was the name of the twin that constantly chased her around. Yae was to kill Sae so they could become one. So Sae could become a crimson butterfly.

But for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what it had to do with her and why Kikyo was involved. She wasn't a twin and nor did she have one. So why was she chosen for this ritual. Rin and Sesshomaru had been chosen simply because they had stumbled into the Himuro mansion. Akiri had been chosen because she had lost her whole family and could relate to the priestess. There had to be a reason she was picked for this village.

Her whole body froze as the sound of footsteps came from the cemetery. Thinking quickly she ducked out the hole she had came from and pressed her back to the tree. Her breathing shallowed as she listened for any sign of being followed.

A familiar male voice spoke up, "I think I saw this tree earlier near that shrine."

"But that is on the complete opposite side of here," a young child denied such possibilities.

"Maybe the tree connects the two," an obviously feminine voice said thoughtfully.

Kagome had to force herself to stay put. How had the spirits known? How could they take her friends voices and make them their own. If they had, it was just another trap for her to fall into. Like the one in front of the shrine. The shrine that had the tunnel leading from the village, the very same tunnel that Yae had used to leave Sae behind.

She continued to listen as they entered the tree. The sound of sniffing filled the air.

"It was Kagome," Inuyasha's voice drifted to her, "she was here."

"Look," Ginta cried out, startling her, "that looks like Lady Kikyo."

"That is Kikyo," Inuyasha stated.

"What the hell is going on here," Sango huffed, "first Kagome-chan, now Kikyo. What next? We find out that Kagome-chan escaped through that tunnel and we are stuck here forever?"

"Don't say that," Hakkaku hissed, "I don't want to be trapped here."

"Look, let's just continue to hunt down Kagome-sama and we will see what happens from there," Miroku offered, "we aren't getting anything done by standing around."

"If what you said is true hoshi, the other side of this tree leads directly in front of the shrine. We were just there less then two hours ago."

"Where else can we look," he challenged, "we have looked the city over twice and all we have found is ghost after ghost."

"Miroku is right," Sango sighed, "we just gotta keep going around in circles till we finally run head first into her."

"Damn," Inuyasha snarled, "if only my senses worked properly here."

Kagome watched in awe as her group along with Ginta and Hakkaku exited the tree and began walking down the path in front of her. They weren't ghosts, they were real. Panic filled her as she realized just what that meant. They were trapped here, running from the crazed twin, just like she was. If she couldn't put the puzzle together and figure out what she was suppose to do, they too would be stuck here forever.

After the many years it took to defeat Naraku, this was not the way that they all deserved to die. Only several months had passed since his downfall and they had yet to really live a life free of such overwhelming darkness. Because of her, it was possible they could be trapped here forever. This was not how she wanted things to end.

Shaking herself from her thoughts she was shocked to find they were all the way at the end of the trail entering back into the village. Her feet slammed hard into the ground as she chased after them. If she yelled it would attracted the spirits so she had to hope she could catch up to them before they entered a house.

Turning the corner her heart plummeted when she found they had disappeared from sight. Her mind turned over the past several minutes, trying to find a sign that her friends had merely been ghosts. With a defeated sigh, she decided it was best to move forward and continue searching for her reason for being here and forget this even happened.

A loud cry came from her left, "Mama!"

She turned quickly, watching at the house doors opened and her son flew from inside. She caught him in her arms, holding him close to her chest. Her friends stepped out with large relieved smiles on their faces.

"You are okay," Sango wrapped her and Shippo up in a hug, "we were so worried."

"What are you guys doing here, it's not safe," Kagome glanced at all their faces, "and if Ginta and Hakkaku are here, where is Koga-kun?"

"Koga stayed behind in the manor of sleep with Akiri," Ginta offered.

"You mean, you guys saw Akiri? Is she okay?"

"Shouldn't you be more worried about yourself," Inuyasha snapped.

"No actually, because I'm not as heavily marked as she is. My life isn't hanging on the line at the moment," Kagome shook her head, "I've been here for almost two months now. While I'm still afraid, I know how to survive."

"She was injured," Miroku cut in, "her left thigh was badly cut. She looks on the verge of dying from starvation and her tattoos cover her chest and both arms."

"She has to make it," Kagome's voice was watery, "she can't die here. It would be my fault."

"Don't say that, sis. You can't control what happened."

"But I could have. Sesshomaru-dono and I were trying to find Rin-chan when the priestess from the manor of sleep found us. I told him we should run, and he did. He ran one way and I the other. Being slow, I was having a hard time staying out of reach of the priestess. I found Akiri and she pushed me forward and told me to run that she would buy me time.

"That was when the priestess touched her and marked her. She has been here a year and because of me, she is marked now. If she dies, it will be because I didn't listen to her warning."

"What do you mean, her warning," Inuyasha's eyes narrowed.

"You remember that time when I woke up crying out wait, your feet are bleeding? That was the first time I ever saw Akiri. She told me not to follow the butterflies. She said if I crossed under the archway, I wouldn't be able to go back. The next night, I crossed the archway and followed the butterflies. That is how I ended up here."

"You mean, you knew? You are telling me that you knew this would happen?"

"How did I know this would happen," she snapped, "how could I have known then that my dreams were more then just a dream? I didn't even know that till I went to the hospital in my time and saw that Akiri was there! She fell asleep over a year ago now and never woke up. The only reason she is still alive is because the people of my time are keeping her as healthy as they can."

"You can't blame, Mama. She really didn't know," Shippo huffed, "besides, it was your idea to go through that valley. If we had just gone around like Miroku said."

"Don't even try to pin this on me," Inuyasha yelled, "this was not my fault!"

"Well, it was that very same valley that the manor of sleep resides in, and you were the one that pushed us to just go through," Miroku defended Shippo.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to retaliate when suddenly Kagome brought up her camera and the flash temporarily blinded them.

"What the hell, Kagome," he snapped.

"I suggest we run," she pointed towards the advancing guards.

"By all means," Miroku gasped out, "lead the way, Kagome-sama."

"Right," she nodded, "follow me."

* * *

"Why do you insist on following me," Akiri asked the youkai that walked calmly by her side.

"You shouldn't have to face this on your own," Koga easily replied.

"I will be fine," she brushed off the excuse, "I have been here on my own for quite some time."

Koga sighed and shook his head, "I couldn't leave you alone even if I wanted too. Your smell and taste attracts me to you."

She blinked in confusion, "what exactly does that mean?"

"It means that I want to get to know you," he offered.

"At a time like this," she questioned, "after this is over, once I have finished my duty here, I will return back to the hospital in the future. There isn't much time left to get to know me."

"How do you know?"

"I don't," she sighed, "I just hope I don't have to spend more time here. I am exhausted of this place."

"How long have you been here," he asked curiously.

"It was just after my seventeenth birthday that I started having this dream. A few weeks later and I stopped waking up all together. That was... over a year ago. I'm eighteen now. Missed my birthday and everything," her laugh was humourless.

"That is a long time to be lonely."

"I wasn't really lonely. No more so then I was at home. After all, I'm the only one left in my family line. No, here I had a purpose. I went from mansion to mansion finding books and reading about the rituals that were held here. While I didn't explore the other two mansions as much, I was still able to figure out what Shinto practices happened there. I knew I just had to bide my time. I can't complete my goal here, until both mansions are placed into rest."

"You mean, until Kagome figures out why she is here, you are stuck here," Koga stared at her in shock.

She nodded, smiling up at him, "once she has completed her task, I will open that door and complete mine. But until that happens, I'm trapped here."

"How did you figure that out," he watched her carefully.

"When I realized the twins and the rope shrine maiden were following me into this mansion. I attempted once to solve the rope shrine maiden's puzzle, but no matter what I tried, certain doors would not open for me. Doors that only opened for Sesshomaru-dono and Rin-chan."

"So they really were here."

"Yes. Now I know that Kagome must put to rest Sae's soul before I can put Reika to rest."

"That is the name of the girl covered in blood and the one covered in tattoos, correct?"

"They are the two souls that are left," she nodded, "the two that need to be sent over to the other side."

"And when that happens?"

"Hell will close and the spirits trapped here will be free."


End file.
